Fire of the Geisha
by Cordeelia
Summary: Haruno Sakura was born to a famous geisha who made a deadly deal with the Akatsuki. And this deal could make Akatsuki richest of the rich; only if Sakura would train to become Geisha and become as famous as her mother once was. But what if falling in love with a bad boy got in the way of Akatsuki success? A story of angst, beauty, love, and the discipline of life. Pairing: Deisaku


It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If such is true, then a beautiful geisha dancing upon a stage, or a geisha pouring tea during a tea ceremony was to be most exquisite to a man visiting Konoha Prefecture after working in a bustling city for many months. He would need a release after travelling so far and entertainment from a beautiful geisha would most certainly be a release. Growing up in an okyia, a geisha house, Haruno Sakura knew this to be true.

Being the daughter of the most famous geisha in the Utsukushii District in Konoha, Sakura often accompanied her to parties and teahouses, kneeling in front of the door in a gray maid kimono, which contrasted with her pink hair, when her mother was with her customers. She did this so that when a man needed to use the toilet, she would lead them down the halls to where it was, waited outside the door until they were done, and then she would escort them back to the tea room. After, she would be required to kneel beside the door again, waiting to see if another man needed to go to the toilet. Sakura would be kneeling for hours a night. But, if she was lucky, she would be able to hear the conversation happening in the room before her.

"Jeigo-sama, what a refreshing sight you are after such a long travel from Kyoto." Sakura heard frequently when her mother was with her customers. They marvelled over her beauty, complimenting her throughout the night. Sakura hoped that one day, she too would receive such praise from men. But, even though Geisha may receive many compliments, it is not the Geisha's duty to blush and bat her eyes as a school girl would if you were to catch her with her skirt up. Jeigo, which was her mother's geisha name, would smile, probably while pouring warm sake or whatever happened to be served that night into the cup of the man who payed tribute to her and say, "Why thank you, 'whatever-his-name-happened-to-be-san', it is so very kind of you to say so," then, she would start a story or conversation. Sometimes, she would be requested to dance or play on her _shamisen. _Those were the times where Sakura wished she were in the room, rather than kneeling with her head bowed so far, all she could see were her fingers and on occasion the shadow of her mother's dancing figure.

A Geisha, donned in fine silk kimono while moving her body like a soft stream on a warm day in summer was a sight to behold. But, it is said that Jeigo could do it better than any Geisha within Japan, which is why she was the most famous geisha in Utsukushii. And, lucky for Haruno Jeigo and Haruno Sakura, this fame made many men who visited Utsukushii want Jeigo to be at their parties or have private engagements. This, in turn, made the Haruno okyia very _very_ rich.

But being famous and rich made enemies; many enemies. Tonight, there was something different about the way Haruno Sakura's mother, donned in all her geisha wear, walked into the tea room following her customers. But, these weren't normal her mother's normal customers, she noted. There was something sinister about them that sent a shiver up Sakura's spine. Upon seeing them, she bowed her head the lowest she could go, not daring to meet their eyes. Before she had done so, she had caught a glimpse of the customers.

A man with flaming orange hair stepped into the room. Sakura found his hair to be quite peculiar, but didn't want to remark since her mother and herself had unusual pink hair as well. What she found to be quite odd about this man was his face. In no way was it deformed, but there were medal rods stuck into many points on his visage that obscured his handsome face. She didn't see much more of him, but she did see more of his companion. A woman, with _blue_ hair, (what a sight she was too) was behind the orange haired man. Prior to trailing her companion, the blue haired woman stopped beside Sakura. The pink haired girl bowed her head lower, with her hands out in front of her, digits together. She hoped that the woman was just fixing her kimono rather than stopping to gaze at her. But to Sakura's chagrin, the woman spoke.

"You must be Jeigo-sans daughter." The woman's voice drifted out of her mouth like silk fabric flowing down one of her mother's expensive kimono.

Sakura still did not look up at her words, but only kept her head bowed low along with her body. This, however did not seem to please the woman.

"Young girl, when someone speaks to you, I expect you to look up and be responsive. Don't just kneel there like some cow chewing on grass."

Gingerly, Sakura retracted her hands and slowly shifted her eyes, along with her head upwards to meet the eyes of the blue haired woman. But, like her companion, she too had metal, though there was only one just above her chin. This did not humble her appearance like the metal rods imbedded in the orange haired man's face did. In fact, the blue haired woman was quite beautiful even with the small metal ball protruding above her chin. Her beauty, dare she think it, was one to rival her own mother's. This woman, that day as she saw her, coupled her beauty with an indifferent expression as she gazed into Sakura's own jade eyes.

"There you are. Now, where is my apology?"

Sakura was taken aback. What had she done wrong? She had been told to kneel low with her head bowed in front of the tea room for years now. She had come to know this as her normal position.

"I'm sorry ma'am. I do not realize what I have done wrong." Sakura gave a slight frown, which the woman mirrored when the response she received was not the one she wanted.

"You are to apologize for acting like a sloth hanging from upon its tree branch chewing on leaves in the hot sun; slow and unresponsive." The woman said with a frank tone.

Sakura's eyes dropped down as she bowed once more with apologetic attitude, "Then for that, ma'am. I am truly sorry. I will try my best to not act like a sloth in the future," the pink haired girl focused on the ends of the woman's kimono. She was wearing a silk black kimono with red and white black clouds situated around the bodice with a long red _obi_. An atypical design indeed and one that Sakura noticed echoed her male companion; she also thought that this design was one of the reasons why Sakura shuddered upon seeing the pair. It had to mean something more than just a simple vestigial fabricate for show. A family crest, perhaps? But what family would have a crest that was as ominous as such the blue haired woman displayed?

From the silence that began when Sakura's apology ended, Konan gave a curt grunt before continuing into the tea room and shutting the door behind her. For the rest of the night, she could only hear snips of the conversation that the sinister pair and her mother carried out. Even though Sakura couldn't hear most of their words, their tones certainly were diverse.

At a point during the evening, if one were to walk by the tea room door, that person might think that a pleasant chat might be going on between old friends. But if another person were to totter past the door at another point that same evening, they might have caught a very tense dialogue perhaps between three rivals or three siblings who have had bad family ties. Whatever they were talking about undoubtedly brought question to whoever moved by the room. But for Sakura, who was kneeled at the door throughout the night, straining to hear bits of the conversation was confused more than ever. This alarmed her very much.

Finally, for what seemed like an eternity, the door to the tearoom opened and Jeigo stepped out with a stressed jaw. Her make-up was less than perfect by now and she looked tired beyond belief. Sakura immediately stood when her mother phased from the room and down the hall, making no effort to acknowledge her daughters existence.

Sakura wanted very much to look back to see the pair again, but thought better of it. The blue haired woman scared her and her companion would probably be much worse if he was pressed in the same situation.

As soon as they were out of the Tea House, Sakura, who had retrieved a liquor umbrella from the mistress of the house, opened the umbrella for her mother, lifted herself up on her tippy toes to completely shelter her mother from the rain. The walk back to the okyia was as tense as the conversation Jeigo had with the pair of strange companions. Jeigo kept her eyes forward with her jaw clenched so tight it was a wonder why her teeth didn't break like glass. Sakura wanted to know what had happened and she wanted to comfort her mother. But, she thought that would have to wait until they reached the okyia.

When they did reach Haruno okyia, the maid that was waiting by the door took Jeigo's shoes and placed them in coherent order. The young maid, who was seven, the same age as Sakura, then bowed to Jeigo and left the room. Sakura was about to do the same, but her mother stopped her.

"Sakura, you will sleep with me in my room tonight."

The pink haired girl's eyes widened in surprise and suspicion. Sakura usually slept with the other maids on the first floor, while Jeigo slept up on the second floor with Auntie. Auntie was the owner of the okyia. She had once been a geisha herself a long time ago, but due to age taking her beauty away, she took what she had left of her earnings and bought an okyia. Later, she adopted Jeigo, who then was known as Mebuki and enrolled her in the local school for young geisha. Sakura was soon to do the same, but life as a maid was to suffice for now.

When Jeigo asked Sakura to sleep in her room, her mother had a defensive look cross her face. Sakura could only guess that she was still nervous from her earlier engagement and decided not to comment. She followed her mother up the stairs and into her room where she removed her kimono and wiped off her make-up. Sakura found her place behind her mother who was seated in front of the mirror wiping her makeup off with a warm cloth. Jeigo stole a few glances at her daughter before placing the cloth down. She turned to face Sakura with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Ojousan, there is something I must tell you." Jeigo held her daughters hands in her own looking her straight in the eye.

Sakura held the gaze, "What's wrong, Okaa-san? Have I done something wrong?"

Jeigo tucked a strand of Sakura's hair behind her ear, "Oh no, my darling, of course not. You're a good girl and you always have been. But this something of which I need to speak to you about this evening. I fear it will be too late if I wait much longer."

The young Haruno nodded, waiting for her mother to continue. "You know that I, as a geisha have made Auntie very rich, yes?" She didn't wait for Sakura to nod, "Do you know that with all this money, power comes along with it, yes? Well, there are people out there who think an old, decrepit woman like Auntie shouldn't be in possession of someone who can make her powerful and rich."

Sakura nodded once again, "Are those strange people you met with today such people, Okaa-san? Are they going to hurt Auntie?"

Mebuki cupped Sakura's face in her hands, "Yes, I believe they are. And they might hurt me too," Seeing the alarm in Sakura's eyes she caressed her cheek with her thumb, "No no shh, sweetheart you must listen to me. These people; that man, his name is Pein and the woman with him is his wife named Konan. They are part of an organization out in Amegakure Prefecture that has the best Geisha in all of Japan. They asked me to join them years ago, but I refused and Pein was mad. Oh honey, he was very very mad. He was going to kill me, until I told him he could have my first born child, if it was a girl, and raise her as his own."

Sakura's mouth gaped open, unattractively for a moment before she remembered her manners and shut it again. She couldn't believe it. Her own mother made a deal with that man. She knew he was evil. She just knew it. Sakura felt her lip tremble, what if she was going to have to leave the okyia and her mother? She didn't want to go far away. She wanted to stay with her mother and train to be a geisha with her mother.

Mebuki looked as if she was going to cry herself, "I'm so sorry darling. When you were born, and he came looking for me, I refused and ran away from him. He won't leave us alone until he has you. And that is what we were talking about tonight."

The young girl, now forgetting all her manners threw herself in her mother's arms and wept, "Oh mother, please don't send me away with them. Please mother!"

The older pink haired woman held her daughter fiercely, "I will not let them take you. I will _die_ before I let them take you away from me."

Jeigo uttered those words too soon, because right after she whispered them, the okyia burst into flames. Screams from the maids erupted into the air and Jeigo pushed her daughter away from her.

"Run, Sakura! Run!" Jeigo screamed as her evening kimono caught flames along with the rest of her body. Without thinking another minute, Sakura ran down the stairs, and out of the okyia. She didn't want to look back, but this time she did; and what she say stayed with her until she was a very old woman.

There was her mother, in the top right window of the okyia, on fire, with her mouth wide open as if she was screaming, which she probably was. Tears stung Sakura's eyes and she blinked permitting one to slip down her cheek. But, this seemed to be a small mistake, for as she did, she heard a sickening crack, and the Haruno okyia collapsed in on itself. Sakura jumped in surprise, she felt that when she blinked, she was the one who had ruined the okyia and made it fall, killing her mother, Auntie and anyone else inside.

"This is what happens when foolish Geisha disobey me, Sakura."

And at those words, the orphaned girl felt all feeling in her limbs disappear and she collapsed on the ground, sobbing. It was that man, the orange-haired man. What was his name again? Pain? Pein? It was Pein. But, she preferred Pain, because he seemed to cause a great deal of it. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, the light press and soft touch made her think of her now deceased mother.

"Young girl, you should rise from the ground. It's very wet and you'll get your kimono dirty." It was the blue haired woman. Konan.

"I rather be on the ground or in the fire than in the presence of people as evil as you." Sakura sniffed, wiping her nose on her kimono sleeve.

Konan suddenly became very vicious, very fast. She seized Sakura's arm and ripped her from the ground hard, "You will learn more manners than that, child. You are part of the Akatsuki okyia now. And that okyia is where you will live and serve myself and Pein for the rest of your life. You will obey me, is that understood?"

Not wanting to cause any more of a scene than she already did, Sakura nodded her head, not meeting her angry stare. Konan pushed the young girl in front of her into the arms of the orange-haired man who held more of a menacing grip than his wife had.

It was then Sakura knew her life would never be the same again.

Hey guys! I decided to make another story because even though I already have two that need working on, I decided to make another! Yay! Anyways, this story was inspired by 'Memoirs of a Geisha.' It first was a book and then later was turned into a movie. I love it so much.

Feedback is highly encouraged!

Much Love!


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